


Chasing Butterflies

by Minionfromthedark



Series: Finding Love [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Domestic Bliss, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Magic, Middle Aged People Falling In Love, New Beginnings, New love, Romance, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22620427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minionfromthedark/pseuds/Minionfromthedark
Summary: After the death of his late wife, Ruben lives by himself, high in the mountains near a small village. He is a wood carver, and soon his work shows what he longs for the most: a new love to share his life with. A beautiful woman, carved from wood, becomes the personification of his longing. He doesn't believe he will ever meet someone like that, at least not where he currently lives.Everything changes with the magical dream catcher he brings home with him one night.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Finding Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627435
Comments: 6
Kudos: 4





	Chasing Butterflies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pynselium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pynselium/gifts).



> This is a gift to a very dear friend of mine who was nice enough to let me borrow her OCs to make fluffy fanfic for our shared ship (second chances)! More about the OCs and where to find them in the end notes!  
> Ruben and Nea are in their early forties, Claire and Adrien in their mid fifties, the witch looks younger than she is (so much younger!), Mikhail (the dude talking to her) is in his early forties, and finally, Kai and Sky in their early to mid twenties.

With a deep breath, he stepped out of the hut he called his home. He righted his backpack, slung over his broad shoulders, relaxed his body. It would be the last time. The finishing touches he would make at home.

The door fell closed behind him with a muffled thud as he began making his way up the slope and into the mountains ahead. The way was a familiar one. He had made the trip a few times in the past weeks, whenever he had a moment to spare.

His heavy threads alerted the wildlife around him of his coming their way, but he wasn’t there to hunt, not this time. He had left bow and arrows at home, his only defence the axe across his back. His fists, too, if it came to the worst-case scenario.

He had woken up with the birds, and their chirping has only risen in loudness and livelihood. Wind was moving through the branches of the large trees along the small path he was threading. Sometimes a leaf would sail down and come to rest on one of his large shoulders. He soon gave up trying to brush them away and let them gather.

Autumn was approaching faster with each passing day, colouring the leaves red and yellow, colouring the little stream he needed to pass, too. Ruben couldn’t deny that it was a nice view, and any other day he might have stopped to admire it as well.

But he would already be late to market because of his detour this morning, so he crossed the stream without another glance to the colourful play and continued his journey. The path led up and up, high into the mountains.

Finally, the large man arrived at a clearing in the middle of the woods lining the mountains’ steep cliffs. Despite the arduous ascent there were no obvious signs of strain when you looked at him. Only his breathing was slightly elevated as he came to a stop in front of the carving in the tree trunk that he had left there the previous day.

The statue’s hands were still reaching towards his chin, and for a moment, he closed his eyes, pretended there were gentle fingers carding through his beard. He missed the sensation if he was being honest with himself.

Missed someone to share his life, his thoughts and few words with. He heaved a great sigh. Ruben wasn’t too sure if it was a good idea, bringing the source of his longing back down with him to his hut but he was weary of making the trek up there every day.

Gently, but determined, he began felling the tree above the statue’s head, careful not to damage the beautiful woman he had carved from scratch. It took a few minutes and meticulous planning, but finally the upper half of the tree crashed to the ground.

He let himself rest for only a moment before he began anew. He was able to make a base at the statue’s feet and lift it carefully so that only the tree stump remained. It was done. He carried the half-finished product back down the mountain, slower now so that he wouldn’t let his precious cargo fall.

It had all started small. A customer had remarked about the little wooden pendant he was wearing and asking where they could buy something like that. Upon hearing that Ruben had made it himself, they had soon commissioned one for themselves.

With time, these pendants had grown, into little statues. A theme had appeared, after a while, channelled through his loneliness. He had begun carving the same woman repeatedly, her features becoming clearer and more concise. Large eyes, a small nose and a gentle smile on full lips. Long hair framing an oval face, expressive and engaging.

Ruben had to admit to himself that he was losing himself in that fantasy. But the loneliness was slowly wearing him down. Though he still missed his late wife, he was ready for something new. The chances of meeting someone at the market in the little village at the foot of the mountains was, however, small, especially because it seldom saw new faces.

So, he was left to imagine and dream of a woman appearing in his life, however that was supposed to happen. He could, of course, up and leave, move into a bigger town, but Ruben quite enjoyed his life in nature. He was secluded from the rest of the village, that much was true, though he got to see his friends every day.

And it wasn’t as if he never got any visits. His extended family regularly came by to look after him and make sure he didn’t get too lonely, even though they were currently traveling the world. Ruben didn’t think they’d ever fully comprehend just how thankful he was to have them in his life.

Arriving at his hut, Ruben carefully opened his door and carried the statue over to the far wall where he had made a bit of space for it. In the evening he would continue working on it so the woman would be standing free.

Now, however, it was time to leave for the village below. He spared one last glance at the statue, then he moved back out of the hut and closed his door behind him. The journey would take half an hour and he had to be careful because of the wares stored in his backpack that he wished to sell at his stall.

He had just finished setting up his wares at his usual place when a familiar face appeared in front of him, the smile just as kind as always. His lips turned up on their own. “Claire,” he greeted her softly. “What can I do for you today?”

“I was worried when I didn’t see you during the usual time,” the old woman admitted, rummaging around in her wooden basket. “I was about to walk towards your house to look after you, since you are always so punctual.”

Ruben blushed a bit and his head disappeared between his shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he apologized softly, though his conversational partner already waved his concerns away.

Claire produced a small bag from within her basket and held it out to Ruben, who took it carefully. “I got you something from the bakery in case you overslept and hadn’t eaten yet.” He was treated to a calculating look.

“I haven’t eaten yet,” Ruben admitted softly. Claire nodded sharply and only relented as he added, “I will eat it while I work.”

“Good,” Claire replied with a happy smile, once more sunshine, patting his arm softly before she wished him a good day and wandered off to get back to her tailor’s shop.

Indeed, Ruben didn’t dare _not_ eat the two muffins she had gotten him. He nibbled on them in between customers, and they did help with the gnawing hunger that had taken residence in his stomach before he had realized.

He would have to make sure to remember a way to say thank you to Claire for her thoughtfulness. The good woman was always looking after him, after all. Maybe he could invite her and Adrien to dinner next week to thank her properly.

Lunch break arrived slowly like always, only a few weary travellers interested in the small carved statues and amulets he sold. Most of them frequented the stalls selling food and drink, clothing and other utensils useful for those people crossing large distances.

Once more Ruben was glad that he was able to live sustainably with his garden and the gathering of berries, as well as the hunting of wildlife, as he didn’t sell enough of his craft to get by. Instead he saw it as a hobby and a way to get a few tiny luxuries at the end of the month. Like those muffins, with blueberries in them. He loved them.

He was just about to bite into his bread, piled with cheese and sausage, when he heard the familiar sound. Ruben glanced down towards his feet, and sure enough, the stray cat he sometimes saw walking around the market was looking up at him expectantly.

Ruben was admittedly confused. Normally, that cat wouldn’t even look at him and only frequent its usual spots. He still remembered the time Adrien had wanted to pet it and got scratched for his efforts. Its eyes were focused on his food.

Now, he understood. He carefully crouched down, picked a piece of sausage off from his bread and put it on the ground between them as he didn’t dare hold out his hand to the grumpy looking cat, its greyish fur fluffy like a storm cloud.

With one last wary glance at Ruben, the cat skilfully picked up the sausage with its mouth and ran off, quicker than he had expected it to be. The giant man looked after the thing for a while, a small smile on his face. Maybe it was slowly gaining trust in him. Or maybe it had just been hungry enough to let its suspicions slide for a moment, who knew.

The rest of his lunch break was quieter. During the afternoon not many more customers arrived but he was happy with the profit of the day. After he had counted the money, he began breaking down his stall. He wouldn’t be there for a few days and wanted everything to be secure.

He made his way home with a content feeling, especially knowing how he would be spending his evening. Ruben walked along the stands, the last visitors making space for him, often awed and a bit scared of his height and sheer mass. He hardly noticed anymore.

And he had almost overlooked the new stall, had already walked past it before something caught the light in his peripheral vision and he turned his head to look at it. A dream catcher was glinting in the evening sun, the small pearls around and hanging off the nets gleaming prettily.

Without quite knowing why, Ruben stopped to admire it. It seemed to draw him in, as if it wanted Ruben to look at it. That was, of course, ridiculous. Still, it was hard to look away.

“A good choice,” a young, female voice commented, and, as Ruben turned to look at the woman, he could see that she was nodding earnestly, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was rather small, though her bright red hair and the bi coloured eyes made her stand out from the rest of the crowd. “It seems this one was made just for you.”

How often did she tell people that, Ruben wondered? His gaze grew wary. He half expected her to name a ridiculous amount for a price, and who knew how many of those items there were?

The woman’s eyes grew wide and her hand shot out, the palm up, as if she wanted to stop him from leaving. “Wait a minute!” she exclaimed, startling Ruben a little, who obediently stayed put. “It’s magic! It’s going to fulfil your deepest wish! I promise! I made it myself!

Ruben blinked at her. Was that supposed to convince him? “Magic?” he repeated softly, tilting his head slightly. He didn’t believe in magic. He was rather reminded of the sleight of hand tricks Kai sometimes showed to entertain young children, or his older brother.

“Yes, magic,” she agreed with another important nod. She was back in her element now that Ruben wasn’t running away. “I’m a skilled witch, you must know. My products are of the highest quality and I haven’t had anyone complain about them _at all_.”

The man’s face grew soft. He understood now. This young woman was obviously struggling to sell her wares, and even went as far as creating another identity to make her products seem more attractive. Even though he wasn’t an expert, he could see that her clothing was a bit out of date.

He gave her a gentle smile. “How much does it cost?” he asked, hoping in the back of his mind that he wouldn’t have to spend all his savings, even if it was for a good cause. He had been looking forward to more blueberry muffins.

She fairly beamed at him, further confirming his suspicions. “What do you have to trade, wood worker?” she asked back, a calculating gleam in her eyes that caught Ruben off guard for a moment. And how did she know…? Oh. She must have come by his stall. “A magic item for a magic item?”

Ruben had to shake his head. He had nothing of value on him besides maybe the little statues and pendants in his backpack he hadn’t been able to sell. And while they had been made with care, he didn’t think they could be called magical. He also didn’t know what the young woman considered a magical item in the first place.

The so-called witch pointed at his chest. Her nails were immaculate. “I want that pendant,” she told him, her hand opening with the palm up as she held it out to him expectantly. “Something of your craft for something of my craft.”

The man hesitated. Was that a fair trade? The dream catcher must have taken longer to finish than the old pendant he wore. His fist gently closed around the small item, shaped like a bear. His gaze wandered back over to the dream catcher. The need to see it hanging in front one of his windows was growing stronger.

With a small sigh, Ruben pulled up the string and over his neck. He had used that pendant to promote his work, but he could make another. It wasn’t something he would miss. With nary a sound, the wooden amulet fell into the young woman’s palm.

It felt final, somehow, as she closed her fist around it and let it disappear into one of the bags sewn into her dress. She got down the dream catcher for him, standing on her tiptoes to reach it, and handed it over carefully.

As she held out her hand this time, it was to shake his and seal the deal. “ _Good_ to do business with you,” she commented with a content, almost satisfied smile. Her eyes were shining as if she had just made the best deal in town.

It made Ruben a bit wary, but he shook her hand, dwarfed by his, gently. “Thank you,” he replied in a soft voice and soon let go again. After all, he wouldn’t like to let the dream catcher fall now that he had been able to get it for a small price.

“If there are any problems with my product, come by this stall again next week,” the woman simply replied, already packing up her things. Only now Ruben turned his attention to the other wares. Strange, pluming essences, an unimpressed frog in a mason jar and other strange knickknacks were sitting all over her counter. “But I don’t think you’ll be dissatisfied with the result.”

Ruben blinked and nodded at her one last time before he said goodbye, the dream catcher carefully held in both of his big hands. He turned around and made a few steps before he fully realized what had changed.

The crowd was gone, all other stalls were closed, and it was night. A full moon had taken residence in the cloudy sky. He had only spoken to the woman for a few minutes. How could it be night already? He swallowed hard as a shiver raced down his spine. He must have forgotten the time, that could be the only explanation for this.

Ruben felt compelled to chance a look over his shoulder. He blinked, his eyes growing wide. There was no stall. No witch. There wasn’t even a sign that there ever had been a stall. Ruben let his gaze sweep over the horizon. Even if she had managed to pack everything in such a short amount of time, he would still see her walking away.

He didn’t. Nothing suggested that this encounter had ever even happened. Only the dream catcher in his hands told him that he hadn’t fantasized his meeting with the small woman. A sharp wind blew right through him, making goose bumps appear on his forearms and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Closing his eyes tightly, Ruben resolutely turned around. After another deep breath, he had himself back under control and he started walking in the direction of his home. He was tired, that was all. Maybe he had fallen asleep standing, for just a few minutes. He _was_ getting older.

Though he was a bit sad about his evening plans being foiled, he was also incredibly eager to get home this time, even if it was to an empty hut. He could work on the statue tomorrow evening, after the day’s work. Right then all he wanted to do was go to sleep and forget about what had happened.

The dream catcher was hung in front of one of the windows on the far side of his home. Now it looked as if the unfinished statue was reaching out for it with its fingertips. It was a charming image, Ruben had to admit. The beautiful woman seemed very much real and alive to him then.

Ruben went to sleep. His bed was standing on the opposite side of the hut and he was lying facing the statue. As his eyes were closing, it was the last thing he saw.

Early the next morning, just as the sun was rising, Ruben woke up. He got up and stretched with a small sigh before he started his morning routine. Brushing his teeth, hair and beard, he soon got dressed and ready. He made himself a small breakfast this time, though he ate only half of it.

The rest he put into a small container to be eaten later, when he came back from his errands. After one last glance towards both statue and dream catcher, which presence still somewhat bothered him, though he didn’t know why, he left the little hut.

He had his fishing rod with him and set up a little camp further up the mountains, by that stream he had passed earlier. Ruben didn’t have much hope for a big catch but would be happy with a few small fish for dinner tonight. Maybe he could fry them nicely.

Ruben spent the whole day up at the stream, eating the other half of his breakfast around lunch time, when the sun stood highest in the sky. Only as the shadows began to grow longer and darkness fell around him, he packed up his things and went back home. Five decently sized fish were enough for him alone, so he was content.

He put his catch down on the counter in his tiny kitchen, then made a fire in his fireplace to warm up the single room of his home. Finally, he got out of his coat and took care of the food.

After dinner, Ruben walked up to the statue, his wood working tools in a small satchel hanging from his belt. He straightened up and began working on the details. While he did so, he talked to another little statue, standing on an honorary spot on his shelf.

His late wife, Verde, had died a few years ago. From the ashes and the urn, she had been buried in, he had made the statue. Shortly after her death she had been standing on his bedside table, but over the years, Ruben had managed to move on. He only talked to her a few times a month now instead of everyday when she had been standing beside his bed.

She wouldn’t have wanted Ruben to mourn forever, would have wanted him to be happy. Ruben tried his best to stay optimistic and look forward, if only so that she could be proud of him should they ever meet again.

With a sigh, he sat up properly and stopped his quiet monologue. The statue was done. The beautiful woman was standing free on the base, a bright smile on her lovely face. Her feet looked as if she was just about to walk away, following the dream catcher’s call.

Ruben was satisfied with his work and gazed at the statue for a while. His heart grew heavy even though there was a smile on his face. Would he ever meet a woman like that? Someone who made his heart beat faster? Who wanted to spend her life with him?

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He yearned for a presence at his side, someone to hold at night. Someone who would hold him and tell him that everything would be alright. That he wouldn’t have to be alone for the rest of his life.

As Ruben opened his eyes, his gaze fell on the dream catcher. His deepest wish, that young woman from yesterday had told him. This dream catcher would fulfil it, wouldn’t it? He just wanted to meet someone new, fall in love again. Have a small family for himself.

He sighed. If only he could…. He stopped and blinked. The dream catcher was beginning to glow, slowly becoming brighter the longer he stared at it. Soon, Ruben had to close his eyes against the light when it physically started to hurt him.

Ruben raised his arms in front of his face to shield himself further as the light burned his eyelids. Pushed back by an invisible power, he stumbled towards his bed and fell to his behind with a grunt just in front of it.

Only slowly the light vanished again. Before Ruben had even opened his eyes, he could hear the wooden floor somewhere in front of him creak. By the statue. Another sound. Footsteps, his brain supplied. There were footsteps not belonging to him in his home.

He struggled to open his eyes and get them used to the dimly lit room, his arms lowering from the defensive position they had taken. A silhouette in front of him. He clearly remembered the statue having another pose. The statue had also never moved.

Ruben’s mouth fell open in surprise. A woman his age stood in front of him, dressed in a white, simple dress, reaching her ankles. Her long blonde hair fell to the middle of her back and over her shoulders. Large eyes, a small nose. An oval face. But no smile. Only confusion and curiosity in her turquoise coloured gaze.

Only once he could tear his unbelieving gaze from her to look after the statue were his first suspicions confirmed. The statue was gone. In its stead, an alive woman looking just like it was standing in front of him. Just the base had remained.

Ruben tried not to panic. The dream catcher. Maybe if he wished again…? He blinked. It was. It was just gone. His gaze wandered over his window, the shelves, his little kitchen, the ground. It hadn’t fallen down or anything. It was just…gone.

He got another fright as the woman tumbled down to her knees in front of him with a small pained sound. She had wrapped her arms around herself and was shivering. The sight made Ruben forget about his panic for a moment.

He quickly got up and helped the woman to her feet with the hand he had offered her after she had stared at it for a while. He made her sit down on his bed with little fuss and went over to the front door. Ruben felt her curious gaze on him all the while but tried to ignore it.

Gently, he put his large coat over her shoulders for now to keep her warm. She almost disappeared inside of it, and normally such a sight would bring a smile to Ruben’s lips. Right now, however, his concern was greater.

Ruben left her there for the moment and stoked the fire in the fireplace. He would have to split more wood tomorrow, especially because autumn was rapidly approaching, the nights growing longer and colder.

In the meantime, he tried to order his thoughts. There had to be a rational explanation for this. Maybe he had fallen asleep again and was just dreaming this up. He had been thinking about the statue an awful lot lately, and the words from the young woman at the market had stayed with him, too. He pinched himself. Hurt a little but had no effect. He was still staring into the flames.

Only a small sigh and movement from the bed finally drew his attention away from the fire. He blinked at the sight that greeted him. The strange woman had lain down and fallen asleep. Had he been thinking for so long, or had she been too exhausted? He would have to ask her tomorrow.

He carefully got up and moved closer. Her bare feet were sticking out from underneath his coat, so he got a spare blanket and wrapped it around her small form. The woman gave another small sigh and showed a small smile in her sleep.

Ruben was tempted to stroke some hair away from her forehead but denied himself. He couldn’t just touch a foreign woman in her sleep, no matter how gentle or well intentioned. He swallowed a sigh and quietly moved around his hut.

In the end, he had stoked the fire some more, cleaned the floor from the remaining wood chips and pulled up a chair next to the bed. He put a blanket over himself as he sat down, to keep watch over his surprise guest.

He had originally wanted to stay awake, but the day, or most of all, the evening had taken its toll on his mind and body. His eyelids soon grew too heavy for him to keep his eyes open. It took mere minutes for his light snores to fill the room. Just before he fell asleep, Ruben wondered about himself. Normally, it was easy for him not to fall asleep. He blamed it on the strange light.

Ruben awoke, as always, to birdsong. He slowly blinked his eyes open and smothered a yawn. He was looking at an empty bed. Why wasn’t he lying in bed, he asked himself, struggling to piece together the events of the night before.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. A small breeze was streaming into the hut from the open door, ruffling the few strands of red hair streaked with grey falling into his forehead.

His eyes opened in a flash. The bed was empty. The door open. His coat gone. The woman, she was… Panic seized his heart and Ruben stumbled to his feet, the fallen over chair forgotten in favour of hurrying to the front door.

Ruben ripped it open, almost out of its hinges, his eyes sweeping over the exposed landscape in front of his hut. He had taken a few steps outside before he noticed her. Her eyes were looking into his in surprise. Had he startled her? An apology was ready on his tongue before his brain could even catch up to the situation.

She was sitting on the bench in front of his garden, still wrapped up in his coat. Her bare toes were curled amidst the damp grass, her hair shining in the morning light like platin gold.

“You… should come inside,” he finally managed to say, clearing his throat as his voice still sounded gravelly from sleep, a deep sound from within his chest. “You’re going to catch a cold.” His worried eyes wandered down to her bare feet for a moment, and she raised them to hide in his coat.

She tilted her head at him, her eyes showing confusion. Did she not speak his language? Ruben breathed in deeply. Of course, she wouldn’t. She had been a statue before. Who knew what else this woman wasn’t capable of?

Ruben carefully made his way closer and offered her his hand like the night before. “Let’s go back inside,” he asked of her, making a gesture to the hut in the hopes that she finally understood what he wanted from her. “Aren’t you cold?”

The woman took his hand, tiny in his giant grip. He gently helped her to her feet and steadied her as she began swaying. How had she even managed getting outside like this? And without waking him? He was a light sleeper, usually woken by the slightest movement around him.

She gifted him with a shy smile that Ruben managed to reciprocate, even though his must have looked much more awkward. He still wasn’t really able to grasp the situation. He still didn’t know how to feel about all of this.

All he knew was that he couldn’t turn her away. He needed to take care of her for the time being as it was his fault that she had come to be in the first place. And next week, Ruben would have to talk to the young woman from the market. Maybe she could help him with this whole debacle.

Ruben had her sit down on the bed again once they had made it inside safely. He rummaged around in his wardrobe until he had found the smallest pair of socks and returned to her, kneeling in front of the bed.

He gently grasped her ankle and began sliding the sock over her foot. Ruben struggled to look up from his task but as she didn’t pull her foot away, he dared a glance in her direction. There was nothing but trust and curiosity in her eyes as she gazed back at him.

Somehow, that made it all the worse. A lump formed in his throat and Ruben struggled to breathe for a moment. He had brought something to life, utterly dependent on him. Had she been a child it would have been different. But this was a grown woman without a past and with nothing more than Ruben to keep her safe from the world outside.

Ruben closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was his fault and he was going to own up to it. A whisper of touch on his cheek and his eyes opened again in bewilderment. The woman was looking at him questioningly, a concerned frown on her forehead.

“I’m alright,” he assured her immediately, the smallest of smiles appearing beneath his beard to take that worry from her. He turned back to his task without waiting for a reaction from her, but her hand disappeared from his line of sight, so he thought it working.

He took care of the other foot as well, even though he felt bad about invading the woman’s privacy like that. Ruben shouldn’t be touching her like this, being strangers and all that, but there was no other choice. It didn’t help that he was attracted to her and struggled to see her in a more familial light, which would make this so much easier on him.

Ruben saw her wiggle her toes in fascination as he stood up to find some more clothing for her. She looked to be about his niece’s height and would hopefully fit one of the dresses he kept around for when Rhae was visiting.

The dress turned out to be a bit snug around the chest area, but it would help keep the woman warm while she was inside the hut. When he took her outside, he would throw a light jacket around her shoulders, also from his niece, until he had found something warmer for her.

Only suitable footwear turned out to be a problem. As in, he didn’t have any for her. They would have to go into the village together and have the shoemaker measure her feet before he could buy her a pair.

The woman didn’t much seem to mind and was already back up and about the hut once she was fully dressed. She seemed fascinated with the way the dress fell and kept twirling around until she was dizzy, and Ruben had to help her sit down on the bed again.

“Stay there for a moment, please,” he told her softly, making a placating gesture with both of his hands raised and his palms facing her. Once again, she tilted her head at him and looked as if she was about to protest but finally decided it wasn’t worth it and kept sitting.

Ruben breathed out a sigh of relief and went about making a simple breakfast for the both of them. Some bread piled with cheese and condiment would be enough to keep the hunger at bay until lunch, and it wasn’t as if he could offer anything fancier.

She took the plate from him with curious eyes and watched Ruben eat for a while before she tried it herself. The cheese kept slipping from the bread each time she tried to pick it up but after a while she actually managed to take a bite, chew and swallow.

Ruben watched her right back to make sure she was alright. Watched her make that new experience and how her face lit up. “Good?” he asked her with a small smile, his voice gruff but soft in the near quiet of the room.

The woman nodded in agreement. “I’m alright,” she echoed his words from before, and though they sounded a bit off with the pronunciation and were used in the wrong context, Ruben thought he knew what she wanted to say.

Even though he had to admit he was surprised to hear her say anything at all. She had a lovely, gentle voice, but maybe he was biased. He could admit that much. “You like it,” he commented, realising he had to keep talking to her or she would never learn.

“Good, you like it,” she told him with a happy smile, and something warm bloomed in Ruben’s chest. She would learn. And he would help her to the best of his abilities.

The following days Ruben spent explaining his daily routines to her, showing her the work that needed to be done around the hut and what she herself had to watch out for in regard to her own body, not that he was an expert. He simply didn’t want her to be scared once she found out that she bled once a month. He would be. Scared, that is, in her stead.

They talked a lot, more than Ruben was used to, and it did exhaust him in a way that he hadn’t known before. At the same time, it was worth it. After only a few days, the woman was able to form more complex sentences, understood what he wanted from her and began making requests when she thought Ruben was treating her too much like a baby.

She was growing healthily wary, but also never lost her curiosity. Once she began asking him questions, those he didn’t know the proper answers to, and their supplies started wearing thin, Ruben knew it was time to take her into town with him.

Since he didn’t know how much of a concept she had of her life before waking up, he had originally wanted to talk to the witch without her, but he didn’t dare leave her by herself for a full day just yet. Ruben would just worry constantly and never mind the fact that she was still without fear most of the time, and what if she had to face a wild animal by herself? The thought alone sent a cold shudder down his spine.

No, on the day in question Ruben shouldered his backpack and lifted the woman, who he had come to call Nea, into his arms. He wouldn’t let her make the trip down the mountain without a pair of sturdy shoes and hurt herself in the process.

Nea seemed quite happy about being carried for the time being and wrapped her arms around his neck while she studied the new surroundings from her unusually high point of view. She used the situation to point at everything that was new to her, and had Ruben explain her what she saw, gave her the correct words.

It distracted Ruben himself and helped him forget about his embarrassment. He really wasn’t used to having such a beautiful woman close to him, not since Verde. Still, he breathed in deeply and concentrated on the track and the good weather.

They arrived on the edges of town without trouble, though he stopped just short of the market. He had already warned Nea that she would now meet many more people, get to see many more things, both old and new, in different shapes and forms.

Her excited eyes were flitting over everything revealed to her, excitement and curiosity in the span of her body. “Ready?” Ruben asked her softly, a barely there smile visible beneath his beard.

Nea nodded quickly and a few times in succession. “Ready,” she assured him with a bright smile that still managed to make his heart miss a beat. He cleared his throat and continued on his way.

Though he was tempted to go looking for the witch’s stall first thing, Ruben told himself to be patient. It was more important to get Nea some proper shoes and grant her another measure of independence. It was also a bit embarrassing to be exposed to the curious gazes of the townspeople, wondering about the strange woman they had never seen before being carried around by him.

Much to his relief, he managed to avoid meeting anyone he was closer acquainted with and made it to the shoemaker’s shop without having to give explanations. Ruben should have thought of a story beforehand, something that made sense, he realized.

They were lucky. The shoemaker, an old, grouchy man, didn’t much care about the hows and whys and simply measured Nea’s feet after a short talk with Ruben. Nea watched him, as fascinated with this as she was with everything new.

Ruben worried for a moment that she wouldn’t keep still or recoil from another person’s touch, but she seemed to realize that the man was only doing his job. They were shooed to the woman’s section of the shop along with the number they needed to look out for.

Nea happily looked around and lifted pair of shoes after pair of shoes out of the shelf to look at them from all sides and compare them to the ones Ruben was wearing. Though she was clearly tempted to get some pumps she knew herself that she needed something sturdier.

She tried a few on and finally settled on a pair that she liked to look at and walk in well, even though her first steps had been more than unsure. But with all things new, Nea simply tried until she got it right and didn’t let any insecurities stop her.

Something like admiration swelled in Ruben’s chest as he watched her. Nea really was something else, he thought, a smile on his lips.

She was allowed to keep them on while Ruben payed for the shoes and Nea thanked the shoemaker for his help. He seemed less grumpy after seeing her grateful face and told them to come back should they need another pair.

They stepped out of the shop again like that, Nea with her arm wrapped around his to help steady her while she got used to the shoes. “And next?” she asked with a smile, her head turning this way and that as they navigated the streets together.

“I need to talk to someone,” Ruben replied vaguely, using his height to scan the market stalls before they made their way into the thick of the crowd. There. He gently urged Nea on until they stood in front of the stall in question, once again filled with strange knickknacks.

The woman didn’t notice them at first but when Nea began prodding some of the weird objects, her attention turned towards them, first with a slightly disapproving look towards Nea, then with a questioning one to Ruben. “You’re back,” she commented. “I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with my product.”

That sounded vaguely like a threat and had Ruben swallow hard. “It’s…” he began, his own eyes resting on Nea for a moment before he turned his attention back to the witch. “It worked.” Just not quite the way he had wanted it to.

“Then what are you here for?” the woman asked with a raised eyebrow and her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Would you like to commission another dream catcher? That costs extra and will take a few weeks. Magical ingredients are hard to get by these days, you know?”

Ruben quickly shook his head. “N-no,” he assured her at once and tried to collect himself. After another glance at Nea and seeing her occupied with studying some strange object, he continued with a lowered voice: “She was a statue before.”

The witch’s gaze turned contemplative and she studied Nea with new interest. “What did you wish for?” she wanted to know, flicking her finger to make a small firework explode in front of the statue turned woman. She let out a surprised squeak, but her eyes grew wide in wonder. The witch smiled in amusement.

“Companionship,” Ruben quietly admitted once he had made sure Nea hadn’t been hurt, just startled. But he had never wanted for a person to be created just for him, not in that sense. He was a romantic, no doubt about that, wishing for a soulmate. But not like this, he thought, not like this.

“Then what’s the problem?” the witch asked, didn’t seem to understand why the situation was so troubling for Ruben. “You’ve got your companion, someone made for you. Your wish, your deepest desire has been granted.”

Ruben hesitated. He realized that she was right. And still. Nea wasn’t supposed to exist. And now she was here. What if…? As soon as he had that thought and looked at her smiling face, Ruben forgot about it. He couldn’t just play God and take her life from her.

Nea was here now, she was learning, becoming her own person. Slowly exploring the world around her, forming her own opinions. But still dependent on him, making Ruben feel guilty. He regarded the witch with near helpless eyes. What was he supposed to do?

The witch herself was looking at a point just behind Ruben. “Your girlfriend’s running off,” she commented with her pointer finger and an eyebrow raised.

Ruben’s eyes widened in panic and he immediately turned around, scanning the crowd for Nea. He couldn’t even correct the witch before he hurried off, finally finding Nea in front of one of the many food stalls that must have lured her in with their smell.

“Maybe I should try that myself,” the witch muttered, leaning over her stall and putting her chin on top of the palm of her hand. That was a very pretty woman, after all, and she had always wanted someone pretty at her side, too.

“Try what?” a deep voice asked her, suddenly appearing next to her out of thin air. She started with a squeak and fell down to her bottom, her gaze wandering from the handsome man to her hands in fascination. Had it worked, just like that?

The man regarded her with slight concern, though there was more amusement in his deep blue eyes than anything else as he offered her his hand. “Did you hit your head?” he teased her, making her pout even as she blushed.

“Y-you startled me, that’s all!” she told him, taking her hand back from him with an annoyed huff once she stood on her own two feet again. “W-what do you want, anyway?” His resulting grin made her knees quake.

“Please don’t just walk away without telling me,” Ruben told her softly as soon as he had come to a stop next to her. “I was worried.” Never mind the panic that had seized his heart and he was still recovering from.

Nea didn’t even take her eyes off the food. “Sorry,” she muttered, not sounding sorry at all. She sighed and turned to look up at him. “But I’m old enough now.” Ruben just so refrained from telling her that she was a few days old at best, making her a baby, in theory.

Ruben swallowed his concerns. “Are you hungry?” he asked her with a glance at the meat sizzling in front of them. The vendor was looking at them expectantly, and Ruben moved a bit to the side in case he was blocking other customers.

“No,” Nea told him with a smile and went with him, intertwining her arm with his once more. They could move on if he so desired. “But I wanted to eat.”

“You have an appetite,” Ruben told her with a slight smile. “You want to eat but don’t feel hungry.” It was no wonder with all the different smells wafting and mixing in such a small space.

Nea nodded in agreement and followed Ruben through the crowd, her eyes once again flitting around the market place in curiosity. Ruben looked behind him just once, but the stall was gone. Just like the last time.

That shouldn’t have surprised him, yet it was still a bit of a shock to him regardless. He had to believe in magic now, with everything that had happened to him in the last week alone. But how far did that magic go? What could be done with it? What would be the price?

Ruben breathed in deeply and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to concentrate on the task at hand. “Would you like to try on dresses next?” he asked Nea softly, watching her profile before she turned to him.

“Another dress?” she asked, her head tilted in wonder. Maybe two, Ruben thought, depending on the prices this time of year. Nea had never complained about having only Rhae’s to wear but he had watched her squirm and tug at them whenever she thought he wasn’t looking.

He nodded. “One that fits you properly, made for you,” he tried to explain to her but didn’t follow her gaze down her body, to watch the road ahead. “I will introduce you to a seamstress. She is a friend and I trust her.”

“Alright,” Nea agreed with a smile, a new skip in her step. Just as when he had bought her the shoes. It was good to see her so happy and carefree.

The shop was on the small side, but Claire had made all of the clothing herself. Even the extra sizes Ruben needed had been commissioned from her and he had always liked what she had made for him. Not to mention their extraordinary durability.

The bell above the door jingled as Ruben opened it, alerting the owner behind the counter at the other end of the shop. Claire smiled as she saw him come inside, though her gaze turned curious at his companion. “Good to see you,” she greeted him, nevertheless, walking up to them once she had rounded the countertop. “I was worried when I didn’t see you for a while.”

Ruben smiled a bit bashfully and let go of Nea to hug the old woman close, careful as always, just for a moment, a silent apology in his eyes. She turned to his new friend next, offering her his hand. “I’m Claire,” she introduced herself with a gentle smile. “How may I call you?”

“Oh, I’m Nea,” the younger woman replied, delighted at having been greeted like that. The shoemaker hadn’t bothered, after all. “Nice to meet you, Claire,” she added on an afterthought, finally shaking Claire’s hand.

Though her behaviour was a bit odd, Claire didn’t comment on it, though she shot Ruben a look that promised questions once they had a few minutes alone.

“We’re looking for a dress to keep her warm during the winter,” Ruben told her with a small smile. “Nea grows cold easily.” He hesitated. “Could I leave her here with you while I go and buy groceries?”

Claire blinked and looked to Nea, who looked as surprised as she did. “Would that be alright with you, dearie?” the older woman finally asked with a gentle smile. “I’m just going to take your measurements, then we’ll choose a dress and I’ll modify it, so it fits your curves.”

Nea looked as if she had just understood half of what Claire had said, but after a quick glance at Ruben, who was looking so worried, she finally nodded with a smile. “Alright,” she said, turning back to the seamstress. “Thank you, Claire.”

Ruben breathed out a sigh of relief and thanked Claire as well, and, with one last glance at Nea, who he had never left alone for longer than ten minutes before, he lumbered out of the shop and went back to the market.

He had wanted to take his time, he truly did. In the end, however, his worry had overweighed the rational arguments his brain had tried to convince him with, and he had hurried through the shopping list he had made beforehand.

Ruben needed to let Nea make her own experiences, meet new people on her own, make friends, spend time without Ruben. And still. What if she didn’t get along well with Claire after all? What if she had problems with standing still for her?

He took a deep breath and lingered in front of the seamstress’ shop for a few minutes as he didn’t want to interrupt. Looking inside through the window quelled all of his fears. Both women were smiling and happily chatting with each other while Claire was working on a dress Nea seemed to have chosen.

Calming down at the sight these two made, Ruben sat down on a bench not far from the shop to let them be alone until Claire was done with the dress and they could take it with them back home. He set the groceries down next to him and enjoyed the last warm rays of sunshine this year.

“I don’t like tea,” Nea commented on their way back up the mountain, her arm laced once more with Ruben’s while he carried the bag with the groceries on the other. Her new dress suited her very well, and, with its many layers, she had especially fun twirling around and watching the skirt fly.

Ruben blinked and turned to look at her. “Tea?” he echoed, wondering about the sudden change of topic. Or rather, sudden start to the conversation as they had spent the last minutes in comfortable silence. But he had soon noticed that Nea liked to talk. Much more than he did, in any case. He didn’t mind. He liked listening to her chatter.

Nea nodded with a smile. “Claire made tea,” she explained to him. “But I don’t like it.”

Just as she hadn’t liked the ones Ruben had made, but he thought it nice of her for trying anyway. He smiled. “That’s alright,” he replied gently. They would find something that she liked to drink, apart from simple water and the apple juice he normally only kept around for Topaz.

Weeks passed and autumn turned to winter. Nea fully settled into her new life, the townspeople welcoming her into their midst. She had become a downright favourite with her cheerful demeanour, kind spirit and her eyes sparkling with intelligence.

For answers to questions even Ruben didn’t know, he had taken her to Adrien, Claire’s husband. Or more specifically, to the library he ran. She had learned how to read and write, and whenever they went into town, she would visit the library to take another book back home. She used that time to chat with Adrien, too, who had become one of her best friends.

She was an avid reader, often reading passages out loud when she thought them interesting or simply wanted to share them with Ruben. The few books inside his hut had been favourites as well and sparked one or the other interesting discussion.

The bed he had built her in the last few weeks was dragged closer to the fireplace, just enough so she could fully enjoy the warmth from the still glowing embers when they both went to sleep. Ruben always had to smile a bit when he saw her curled up on it, wrapped up in three different blankets with only her head sticking out.

They had settled into somewhat of a routine. While Ruben still went down into town to sell his wares, Nea more often than not went about her own business, whether that was several visits to her friends around town, grocery shopping or simply sightseeing. She had become rather fond of climbing the church tower and enjoying the view from up there. It wasn’t uncommon that Ruben had to go and get her once his shift was done so they could return home together.

On one such occasion, Nea slipped and fell down the stairs before Ruben could catch her. Though she had immediately assured him that she was fine, her face had twisted in pain, and on a closer look, he could see that her ankle was swollen.

Worry and panic heavy in his heart, Ruben picked her up and carefully carried her down. Much to their luck, there was a practicing doctor in town kind enough to take care of her even to such a late hour and when it was already dark outside.

It was almost love at first sight. At least for the doctor, Ruben recalled much later. Nea had been very thankful about the gentle treatment, and with everything new, completely fascinated while the doctor had blushed whenever she smiled brightly at him. Ruben… couldn’t blame him.

Still, Dario turned out to be competent and stayed professional the whole way through, which Ruben was immensely grateful for. Sooner or later, Nea would have caught someone’s eye, he had always known that, though what he didn’t know was whether Nea was aware of that. Or rather, aware that there was more than friendship to be had with other people. If she felt so inclined.

Nea was looking much happier once they had said goodbye to the doctor and he was carrying her back up the mountain. “Dario’s very nice, isn’t he?” she commented with a smile, content to lay in Ruben’s arms after such a stressful day.

Ruben made a vague agreeing sound and nodded. His worry about her ankle and wellbeing was slowly waning, though new ones soon burdened his conscience. Should he have a talk with her about it? Or should he just keep quiet and let her figure it out on her own?

“And he’s a doctor, so he’s very intelligent, and he knows lots of things, right?” Nea continued, sounding thoughtful in the quiet around them.

His gaze wandered down to her profile as she stared into the surrounding darkness. “I suppose,” Ruben agreed once more, curiosity creeping into his voice. It was always so refreshing to talk to Nea as he never knew what she would say next.

“And he helps people,” Nea continued, her eyes shifting up to look up at Ruben and return his gaze. “I was thinking… I want to help people, too. Do something with my free time. Support you, most of all. So, I could…”

Ruben watched her with increasingly wider eyes, alight with astonishment. “Nea,” he whispered softly but didn’t dare interrupt her when she was looking at him like that, seldom earnest and focused. He wanted to protest, tell her that he liked to provide for her and that it was enough, what she did around the household and with the grocery shopping, but no words would leave his mouth.

She cleared her throat, looking determined. “I could work with him, as an assistant?” she continued, seemingly slowly warming up to her own idea. “And learn from him. Until I can help people as well, on my own. Do you think I could do that?”

He took a deep breath, his heart warring between pride and the sudden jealousy that wanted to rear its ugly head. “I’m convinced that you could do anything you set your mind to,” Ruben told her, flushing himself at the bright smile she sported. “You should…just ask him.” Though he was almost sure the doctor would be all too happy about spending more time with her.

“Then I’ll do that,” Nea told him, all sunshine and happiness, a bundle of warmth inside his arms. Easily able to ward off any chill Ruben might have felt in the cold winter air.

Protectiveness welled up inside Ruben’s heart, but he pushed it down. Nea had grown so much in such a short amount of time that he didn’t need to be with her every step of the way anymore, even though his chest hurt at the thought. It seemed as if it was time to let go, slowly but surely.

Was that the true price Ruben had to pay for the magic, like it was told in all those fairy tales? He had been given everything he had wanted, and now? Would she be taken from him, just like that?

I’m happy as long as she is, Ruben thought to himself. And still, it hurt. It hurt so much to think that he might one day not wake up to the bundle on the other bed, the blond unruly hair sticking out from a night of tossing and turning.

Oh, he thought. Oh. He was in love.

Nea…wasn’t very happy about being confined to the hut while the ankle healed in its own time, often complaining about the lack of movement she could perform on her own. She had soon read through all of the books Ruben had twice, and after a week of this, he took her down into the village, once again carried in his arms.

He left her in the library to keep Adrien company and to have someone to talk to while Ruben went about his business. There was a big staple of books waiting to be carried home by the end of the first day, but Ruben didn’t mind. As long as Nea was entertained and less grouchy, he would gladly carry a thousand books up the mountain.

Once again, Nea also had the chance to ask questions to her heart’s content, as the old librarian had the patience of a saint and visibly enjoyed teaching someone with so much curiosity.

Once, however, there was no way for them to visit the village. A snowstorm had broken out in the region, snowing them in for a whole day. They couldn’t even open the door or the windows. Ruben had been very glad that they had had enough chopped wood to feed the fireplace with.

They had spent the day in comfortable silence and the occasional conversation, but at one point Nea had put her book down and asked about the statue on the shelf.

Ruben had sucked in a quick breath. In a sense, he had known that this question would come, and so he had carefully sat down beside Nea on her bed and told her.

Told her about Verde, who she was, what she had meant to him, and how he remembered her. That he liked to talk to her once in a while when he was feeling lonely, though that had lessened since Nea had appeared in his life.

About how bright her smile had been, about her unique sense of humour with which she had always managed to make him laugh, her beautiful brown eyes and the care with which she had treated everyone. How she had loved taking care of children, how she had taken care of everyone, and of him, without expecting anything in return.

Ruben told her about how she died, with an unborn child in her belly that they had both looked forward to so much. How ready they had both been to be parents and raise that child together. How much he missed her even now, sometimes.

He hadn’t even noticed the silent tears running down his cheeks until Nea had whispered a quiet, sorrowful “Oh, Ruben, come here” and pulled him into her arms. Ruben hid his face in her neck as he wept, his broad shoulders shaking with the force of it.

It felt like an eternity until he could finally pull himself together. He breathed in deeply, if not shakily, and concentrated on the gentle fingers carding through his hair, enjoying the gentle gesture from the woman he had fallen in love with.

“I wish I could have met her,” Nea murmured into the silence between them, for his ears alone. “She sounds wonderful, and I feel as if we could have been great friends.”

Ruben couldn’t help but think so, too. At the same time, Nea would have never existed without Verde’s death, and so, at least for him, it finally made some sense.

He swallowed hard and wrapped his arms for firmly around Nea, though still comfortable enough that she could pull away and wouldn’t be crushed in his embrace. “Thank you,” he rumbled quietly, and they stayed that way for the rest of the evening.

As soon as her ankle had healed, Nea had asked Dario about her idea, and, though he had hesitated for a while, she later told Ruben, he had agreed. From then on, she regularly went down into town in the mornings, sometimes alongside Ruben, sometimes alone, and would return when the sun was down.

Ruben tried not to worry too much and tried not to think too much about it. What they were doing when they were alone, how well they got along, how Nea was always smiling when she got home from work. Thinking about it too long only hurt.

That he could simply ask Nea out himself never crossed his mind. She was someone unattainable, deserved better than to live up there in the mountains with only him to keep her company. It wouldn’t be long now, he thought, before she would grow too bored of it. Of him, too.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before he let all the air leave his lungs and clear his head. Ruben turned back to the wood he was splitting near the hut, hoping that the work would distract him for a short while.

Indeed, half an hour passed before his idyll was disturbed with a call of his name. This particular one was always enough for him to lift his head, a small smile lighting up his lips.

“Ruben!” Nea called again, walking towards him with a bright smile and… a fluffy cat in her arms, looking nothing but grumpy. And somehow also very content, if such a thing was even possible. “Can we keep him?”

Ruben blinked and searched Nea’s skin for any kind of scratches or other small injuries but there were none. The cat was peacefully hanging in her arms, its legs dangling downwards in a rather undignified manner.

“Please?” Nea pleaded as no answer came from Ruben, still standing there with the axe in his hand, trying to figure out what had happened. Had she fed the cat so often that they were now friends? Or was it just looking for more food?

Nea kept on chattering. “I’ll take great care of him and feed him! And I’ll make sure he does his business outside and doesn’t break anything! I’ll bathe him myself and brush his fur and…” The cat meowed as if in agreement.

Ruben blinked a few times. “Yes,” he finally managed to answer, and though quiet, it managed to stop Nea’s little rant. “We can keep him.”

For a moment, everything was quiet, then Nea squealed in delight and hugged the cat tighter to her body. “Oh, thank you!” she gushed, setting the cat down for a moment, much to its confusion, to dance over to Ruben and hug him.

A small, happy smile was seen on his lips as he wrapped his arms around her smaller body in turn. How could he not, when she was this delighted and happy? “He needs a home,” he told her quietly. “And he likes you. He will be loved here.”

Nea laughed and nodded in agreement, turning her happy face up to look at him, her eyes sparkling with joy. The three words were on the tip of Ruben’s tongue, but he swallowed them down. She squeezed close to him for just a moment, whispered a “thank you” and danced away again, picking up the cat.

“Mr Cloud, I’m going to give you a bath now and then we’ll brush your fur!” she decided, her chattering growing fainter as she moved towards the hut. The cat meowed again, seemingly quite happy about the treatment.

Ruben let out a small, fond sigh, and turned back to his work. He had last heard her chatter so excitedly when he had given her a first cup of hot chocolate to try a few weeks back. It was still a treat, expensive as milk was, but he could make an exception, from time to time.

Mr Cloud was very happy about having a home. He shared Nea’s bed and liked climbing atop furniture, though never knocked anything over, which Ruben was immensely grateful for. The cat, however, didn’t seem to like Ruben very much.

He mostly hung around Nea and followed her around. When the weather was good, as far as into the town to spend his day there and walk with her back home once she returned from work. It was as if she had her own little bodyguard.

Ruben had to admit that he worried less now that Nea had someone to watch over her when he couldn’t. Still, the cat thought he owned the house and often looked at Ruben as if he was an intruder in his own home. It was… the slightest bit disconcerting. He tried not to think about it.

In an effort to gain the cat’s trust, Ruben built a small box out of wood and padded it with cushions and Mr Cloud’s favourite blanket. He put it into one corner of the house, right in the spot of light that appeared there for most of the day.

Mr Cloud loved it and spent most of the snowy days in his own little bed. Nea had cooed, seeing him resting there for the first time. Ruben, too, had felt a stab of pride at the sight. That he had gotten a kiss on the cheek from Nea for his efforts had nothing to do with it.

Neither the fact that the kiss had stayed with him for the rest of the day, and well into the night. He was certainly glad that Nea always slept longer than him, and that was all he would say to that.

Though, Ruben supposed, he had gained the cat’s trust in the end. One morning, a few weeks since Mr Cloud’s arrival, the cat sat on Ruben’s chest upon waking up. Its intense eyes were staring right into his, and Ruben didn’t dare move or take his gaze away.

He laid there for a good half an hour, waiting for Nea to wake up and take the cat off him so he could finally get up and relieve his bladder. She did, in the end, even going as far as scolding the cat, though it didn’t look impressed.

It happened more mornings than Ruben liked to admit, but he was thankful for the development, just a bit. Maybe that was just the cat’s way of showing affection to him. Never mind the fact that Mr Cloud now tried to get food from him whenever he was cooking.

Sometimes he even stayed a whole day with Ruben even when the weather was nice or followed him around to sunbathe near him while he worked. He often came to greet him by the door when the cat had spent the day inside, too.

As Nea didn’t come to get him one evening after both of their shifts had ended, Ruben went to the library to check on her. Maybe she had only forgotten the time, which tended to happen when she had immerged herself fully into a book.

Those had been the more scientific ones lately, about anatomy and all sorts of illnesses. She had even taken up learning Latin, with Dario and Adrien happily helping her along while she studied all the practical aspects at the little clinic the former ran.

Ruben stopped in the doorway at the sight that greeted him, a small smile on his face. Adrien was leading Nea around the foyer in a classic ballroom dance, quipping this pun or that just to make her giggle and distract her.

“Aaaand, eyes up again,” he softly said, Nea obediently raising her head from where she had watched the steps to look into Adrien’s eyes. “Don’t worry. Just let me lead you and you’ll be fine. I don’t even mind when you step on my feet. That happens.”

Nea shot him a look. “You say that now, but wait until I actually crush your toes,” she groused playfully, shaking her pointer finger at him despite her hand still being in his.

Adrien chuckled. “I have no worries there,” he commented happily. “You’ll just nurse me back to health, and I’m sure I could convince Claire to make me my favourite food more often. I see no downsides to this.”

“I knew you had ulterior plans!” Nea told him, eyes wide with mock surprise. “You wily old man!”

Said old man broke out into loud laughter and needed to stop the dance for a moment. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ruben standing there. He breathed in deeply. “Oh dear,” he commented with a twinkle in his eyes. “Have I kept her for too long?”

Nea blinked in surprise and looked over her shoulder, an apologetic smile forming on her lips. “I’ll be right with you and then we can go home,” she promised him quickly and hurried through the foyer to collect her things before Ruben could so much as open his mouth to protest.

Adrien waved at him and got his walking stick to help him stand while he waited, accepting the kiss on the cheek from Nea as she bustled past him with a stack of four books in her arms. “See you tomorrow!” she called. He looked after her with a bright smile, chuckling to himself.

Ruben took half of the books from her before they returned home together. Once again titles he had no idea what to do with, but Nea seemed to be looking forward to reading about “100 ways to treat your own neck” or “Curses and Blessings for all Occasions”.

The days were getting warmer and longer again. Spring was slowly taking back the earth from winter’s cold clutches, new flowers peeking through the layer of snow, even up in the mountains. Ruben was looking forward to cultivating his garden again.

Nea had expressed interest in it, too, and asked to plant some herbs for medical pastes and such things. Ruben couldn’t deny such a wish, and so he was even more looking forward to the new season, if only to see Nea smile.

“Hey, um, Mister Magnos?” a nervous voice piped up behind him. Ruben blinked and turned around to see a man standing in front of his stall. He hadn’t noticed someone approaching while he had been busy sorting through his tools.

It was Dario, looking faintly embarrassed with his hands in his coat pockets and half of his face hidden behind his large scarf. His eyes looked ridiculously big behind his glasses as he looked up at Ruben. Dario wasn’t small per se, Ruben simply overly large.

He nodded in greeting. “What can I do for you?” he asked softly, wondering what exactly had brought the doctor to his stall around this time of day. That meant Nea was alone at the clinic. Dario had to trust her a great deal. Ruben’s heart grew warm with pride and admiration for the woman.

“I, uhm. Just. Uhm,” Dario stuttered, shifting his weight from one foot to another as his face kept blushing a deeper and deeper red. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “Wanted to ask permission to take Nea out on a date,” he finally rushed out.

Ruben blinked in astonishment, then a frown appeared on his forehead. “She can decide for herself who she wants to go out with,” he told Dario gruffly, feeling put off. He was neither one of Nea’s parents, nor was he her guardian. He was simply…a friend. Even though the thought hurt.

Dario seemed to shrink in front of him, obviously scared of the big, buff man in front of him. “I, yes,” he mumbled, licking over dry lips. “Yes, yes, of course. I guess I just wanted- “

As no further words came, Ruben took pity on him. “What did you want?” he asked, sounding softer this time. Surely the man only meant well. Nea had only ever told him good things about the man, after all.

“Wanted to do this properly,” Dario hastily continued, righting his glasses as they almost slipped down his nose when he nodded his head. “Because she’s. Just so special. And beautiful and lovely. I… just thought she deserved…. I want to go all out for her.”

Ruben’s gaze grew softer even as his heart squeezed painfully tight. Nea would be in good hands with the doctor, wouldn’t she? “If I were you…”, he mumbled quietly, forcing himself to speak. “I would buy her flowers and ask her for a dinner date.”

Thankfully, Dario didn’t seem to notice his inner conflict. His face lit up with gratitude and he nodded a few times in quick succession. “I think I will do that,” he breathed, growing red in the face again, but his eyes were sparkling with joy. “Thank you so much.”

The large man only grunted in slight agreement and hoped Dario would leave soon so he could wallow in his misery in peace. Indeed, the man bowed deeply, then hurried back off in the direction of his clinic.

Ruben took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes closed, trying to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t wish for Nea to worry when she would come to get him that evening, or the days after that. Her happiness was the most important thing. And if she was happier with the young doctor than with him, then he would have to respect that.

If Dario had asked her that day, Nea made no mention of it. She was her usual happy self as she came to get him after work, and they walked home together with her chattering about the day’s business. Even Mr Cloud came to greet them by the door. He wondered for how long he was going to have this. Another few weeks? Two months? Half a year?

A week passed. Ruben hadn’t forgotten about his conversation with Dario, but his hopes had gotten stronger that the man had been rejected and Nea simply hadn’t wanted to talk to him about it. Until, however, those hopes were crashed.

On that evening, Nea opened the door with a bright smile and a bouquet of flowers in her arms. While Mr Cloud greeted her excitedly, thankfully distracting her for a few moments, Ruben’s heart broke into pieces.

He sucked in a quick breath and banned all negative feelings from his face to gift Nea with a smile as soon as she looked up. “I got flowers!” she told him happily, further dancing inside the house and closing the door behind her. “Dario bought them for me. Wasn’t that nice of him?”

Ruben nodded, standing up and moving to one of his cupboards to get out a vase. “Yes,” he replied softly, filling the vase with water and putting it on the table. He took the flowers from Nea so she could better pull off coat and shoes, carefully arranging the colorful variety.

“We’re going out for dinner tomorrow evening,” Nea continued, picking up the cat on her way towards the table to see what Ruben had done with the flowers. “So, you don’t have to cook for us both. Or was there something I needed to do tomorrow…?” she added, thoughtful.

“No, it’s alright,” he gently replied and gifted Nea with a smile. “I’ll take care of everything.” The words _have fun_ got stuck in his throat as soon as the implication registered. But Dario was a gentleman. He wouldn’t proposition her on the first date.

Nea nodded, smiling back at him while she patted a content looking Mr Cloud in her arms. Ruben tried to burn that picture into his memory. “Thank you,” she happily replied. “Do you think I should dress up for the occasion, though?”

Since Ruben knew that Dario definitely would, he nodded. “You could wear your new dress,” he suggested softly. “And I can help you with your hair, if you want.”

Nea’s face lit up. “Yes, please!” she chirped, standing up on her tiptoes to press a gentle kiss to Ruben’s cheek. His traitorous heart gave a hefty thump, and he blushed a light red beneath his beard. “Thank you so much, Ruben.”

And that was that.

The next evening came much too fast for Ruben’s liking. Nea had returned home earlier than usual to prepare for her date, rushing around the little hut in excitement. She kept chattering about this and that, and only Ruben’s gentle hand on her shoulder had her calm down for a moment.

“You look beautiful,” Ruben told her softly, a fond smile on his face. The new dress had been made just for her, by Claire herself. He had put up her hair after braiding it. Once they were out again, she would have lovely curls. “Take a deep breath.”

Nea did as she had been told, letting the breath out slowly. Her tense shoulders relaxed again. “Thank you,” she mumbled, then put up a determined expression and marched towards the door. “I can do this.”

Ruben’s smile turned a bit more sincere. He followed her and reached into his pocket. “Please wait a moment,” he asked, and as she turned around, only wearing one shoe, he showed her the little box. “Open it.”

She did. Nea’s eyes grew wide at what she saw. “For me?” she asked in awe, her big eyes blinking up at him. It was a small, delicate necklace with silver links and a small gem as a pendant. The color had reminded him of her eyes.

He nodded and gently took up the jewelry. “Turn around,” he asked of her, his voice soft, waiting for her to do so before he carefully put the necklace around her neck. Ruben let himself stare for only a moment, then took his hands away. “Do you like it?”

“I love it!” Nea assured him at once, whirling around and wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you so much! This must have cost a small fortune!”

Everything for Nea, Ruben thought, his hug maybe a little bit too tight. He didn’t want to let her go. But he did, slowly. “I’m glad you like it,” he told her, a small smile on his face, barely visible beneath his beard. He had a feeling Nea knew him well enough by now to see it anyway.

Nea looked at him very earnestly. “This is the best present I have ever gotten,” she told him seriously, and his lips quirked the tiniest bit.

“You should hurry. You don’t want to be too late,” he added, grabbing her jacket while Nea startled and quickly put on her other shoe as well. He helped her into her jacket and held out her handbag to her. Mr Cloud was already waiting for them to go.

Ruben hesitated for a moment more, but then he leant down and pressed a kiss to Nea’s forehead, gentle and soft. “Take care,” he asked of her, his voice quiet in the air between them. “I wish you a wonderful time.”

Nea managed a slightly wobbly smile and looked at him for a while as if she expected more words from him, but Ruben stayed quiet. Finally, she turned around and left the house. A last glance over her shoulder, then the door closed behind her and Mr Cloud.

Left behind in the safety of his home, Ruben wept. He sat down on his bed; head buried in his hands as his shoulders shook with sobs. Why hadn’t he told her? Why had he let her go? These and more questions kept running through his mind, and he had only one answer for them: It had made her happy. And as long as Nea was happy, he could be happy, too, right?

He had no answer for that.

Hours passed. Ruben wasn’t crying anymore, but he was still sitting on his bed, his red rimmed eyes staring at the flowers on the table. He hadn’t even managed to make himself something to eat for dinner. He didn’t have an appetite, though that wasn’t a good enough excuse.

When Nea came home and saw him like this, she would worry. He would ruin her evening just because he had fallen in love with her when he shouldn’t have.

Ruben took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Wiped over his eyes with a damp cloth and hoped Nea wouldn’t notice how puffy they were. He made himself some bread with butter and ate it, just so he wouldn’t have to lie to Nea later.

He stayed awake; knew he couldn’t fall asleep as long as Nea wasn’t home. She had promised to come home before the night was over, and he trusted her. Didn’t much trust the dangers outside, though, making him worry even more.

What if something happened on her way back home? Something the cat couldn’t protect her from. What if Dario turned out to be the villain instead of prince charming?

Ruben was about to get up and go looking for her when finally, the door opened and Nea stuck her head inside. She had tried to be quiet, he guessed, in case he was asleep. His heart warmed against his will, followed by a stab of pain. He smiled.

Nea smiled back and slipped into the hut, Mr Cloud already meowing and announcing his presence. Ruben obediently reached down to pet the cat in greeting while it rubbed up against his legs and knees, the tail puffed up and high in the air.

“You shouldn’t have waited up on me,” Nea quietly commented while she was hanging up her coat and slipping out of her shoes. “You need your sleep.”

She was still smiling, though, as Ruben looked up. “I was worried,” he replied, which was true. That he couldn’t sleep without her near she didn’t need to know. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. “How was the date?”

“Oh, good, good,” Nea replied quickly, perhaps too quick, making Ruben wonder if something had happened, his brow creasing into a concerned frown. “We had that dinner, and then we went on a walk. He showed he some nice landmarks and told me about them.”

Ruben hesitated. “Did you… like it?” he finally asked. She didn’t sound all too excited anymore, but maybe she was only tired. He tried not to worry too much, but as always, failed.

Linnea sighed and lowered her hair over her shoulders after loosening the braids. He had been right. They were curling around her face now, making her look another kind of beautiful than usual, despite the strain of the day. She sat down next to him on the bed and rested her head against his upper arm. “It was really, really boring.”

Ruben blinked, looking down at her as she wrapped her arms around one of his as well. Her words were anticlimactic enough for him not to get flustered at the sudden proximity.

Nea sighed again. “You know, it was really nice and all. We talked like always but then it got awkward and I realized that I wanted to stay friends with Dario,” she told him, a wry smile playing on her lips. “I couldn’t imagine myself with him in a more romantic sense, like in the books. He’s more like the little brother I never had.”

He nodded mutely, hoping she would go on and tell him more about it now that he knew that the date hadn’t gone all that well. Relief spread through his body, his tense muscles finally relaxing with the good news.

“And I kept thinking that I would have liked you there with us,” Nea continued quietly, her eyes slipping closed. Ruben sucked in a quick breath, his heart beating a mile a minute all of a sudden. “With me, most of all.”

Ruben swallowed drily. “Nea, I…” he mumbled, this thoughts racing. He had to tell her. Tell her how much she meant to him. How much those words meant to him. How she made him feel. He-

Her form slouched against his, all of her weight now resting against him. He blinked again. “Nea?” he repeated quietly, but all the young woman did was cuddle closer to him with a murmur of his name. She had fallen asleep, soft puffs of air leaving her slightly open mouth.

A fond huff escaped Ruben at the sight of her. He felt like crying and laughing at the same time. He did neither. Instead, he made sure to gently move Nea to her bed without waking her. This time, as he pulled the blankets over her, he dared a kiss on her forehead.

Nea smiled and murmured his name again. Ruben’s heart soared.

As he laid down in bed, however, the worries came back. Had she thought of him simply because she wanted to feel safe? Or was she so used to spending time with Ruben that she had felt out of her element without him? Did she miss him whenever she was away?

He was only interrupted as the mattress next to him dipped just slightly. Mr Cloud had jumped atop of it and curled up on his chest, purring all the while. As if he had known that Ruben was worrying and thinking too much.

Ruben took a deep breath and pet the cat for a while. It did help him calm down and he whispered a quick thank you to the feline. Mr Cloud only curled up more. It seemed he would stay the whole night. Ruben was grateful for it and finally managed to close his eyes.

They didn’t talk about it again, and Ruben waited for his chance. It wasn’t like he didn’t have any. Actually, he could tell Nea whenever he wanted. He was just waiting for the right moment. At least he told himself that whenever he chickened out from just talking to her about it.

Spring was slowly fading into summer, when one day, two lonely travelers made their way up the mountain. One, black like the night with silver hair, the other pale with light blue locks, an unlikely pair, but still familiar with each other.

The first unusual thing they noticed was the cat running around through the meadow near Ruben’s house. The second unusual thing was the foreign woman working in the little garden just in front of the hut.

Both brothers exchanged a glance before continuing on their way. The cat stopped its playing to watch them come closer with an intense gaze. The darker one found that incredibly amusing and sported a bright grin.

Their steps were loud enough to notice so that soon the woman straightened up and blinked at them in surprise. The big sunhat obscured her face partially, but they could see her curious eyes glinting beneath the brim.

Tall, dark and handsome gave her his most charming smile. “Excuse us, young lady,” he began, pausing shortly as said young lady removed her hat, then continued: “we were just looking for our uncle, Ruben. Does he still live here?”

She smiled as she heard the name. “He still lives here,” she assured the two young men, their shoulders relaxing the tiniest bit with relief. “He’s up by the river, catching fish. He said the salmon is plenty around this time of year. Should I go and get him for you?”

“Oh, no,” the fairer one assured her softly. “You do not need to go to such lengths. Can you perhaps tell us when he will be back?”

“Ruben’s catching the fish for dinner, so he won’t return until the sun has set,” she told them thoughtfully, though her attention snapped away from the young men to the cat as it stepped foot into the garden.

She took it and tossed it back out, the cat making an awkward squawk of protest that sent tall, dark and handsome into a fit of laughter. His companion chuckled as well. As she turned to them again, she was still smiling. “Are you Kai and Sky?”

That stopped the laughter and the two exchanged another glance. Kai, the taller one, asked: “Yes. How did you know?”, his brother nodding in agreement. They were both curious about just who this woman was. Her words spoke of a certain kind of domesticity, and she had apparently brought a cat into the relationship.

“Ruben’s been telling me a lot about you,” she told them with a bright smile, raising up on her tiptoes just once in her joy before she sank down again to the soles of her bare feet. “He’ll be so happy to see you! He missed you a lot, you know?”

The both of them smiled happily as they heard that. “And what is your name?” Kai wanted to know of her, his eyes twinkling with curiosity and joy at the thought of Ruben with a new girlfriend. If anyone deserved a second chance, then surely his uncle.

She blinked, then smiled sheepishly and stuck out her hand to him. “Oh, I’m Nea!” she introduced herself, shaking Kai’s with unexpected firmness. She was a worker, going by the callouses. “Nice to finally meet you!”

Sky shook her hand as well. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Nea,” he replied softly, a small smile on his face. Nea seemed very nice, and it was surely good for Ruben to have someone so energetic and friendly around him.

“Uhm, would you like to come in and drink something cool while you wait for your uncle?” Nea asked them with a smile, looking back and forth between the brothers. “We have some cooled water, and I have set aside cold tea for Ruben normally, but you can have some, too.”

Another exchanged glance, then both nodded. “We would be much obliged,” Sky added with a soft smile, Kai and him following Nea into the hut. The cat was slipping inside, too, probably in the hopes of a snack for itself.

Nea had them sit down at the table while she went about her business. Kai watched the cat move around her legs. “What’s your little darling called?” he wanted to know, trying to get the feline to acknowledge him to no avail.

“My little…?” Nea echoed, obviously confused, but then followed Kai’s gaze and smiled fondly. “He’s called Mr Cloud, because of obvious reasons.”

Kai nodded in agreement. “He looks like he brings rain with him wherever he goes,” he agreed solemnly, though there was a bright grin on his face. Ruben’s new girlfriend sure was cute.

Nea nodded with him as she put down three glasses on the table, cold tea for the brothers and a glass of water for herself. “I know, right?” she commented with a smile, sitting down as well. Mr Cloud jumped onto the last chair to peer over the tabletop.

It was quiet for a while as neither of them really knew what to say, but finally Kai succumbed to his curiosity. “So, for how long have you been living here with our uncle?” he wanted to know, leaning forward with a friendly smile.

“Oh, half a year now, I would guess?” Nea replied with a thoughtful hum, her head tilted to the side as she thought. “The leaves were beginning to turn red and yellow.”

Kai nodded, his eyes sweeping through the hut. Nothing much had changed. It smelt a bit nicer, of fresh lavender. There was a second bed, a few knickknacks that could only belong to Nea were sitting on the shelves, and a little box with blankets for the cat that Ruben must have built. “Did you bring a child with you?”, was his next question.

Nea blinked in surprise. “No,” she replied, sounding astonished. “Why would you think that?”

Sky gave her a gentle smile. “The second bed,” he softly explained to her, giving off an aura of calmness in case they had somehow insulted the young woman.

“No,” Nea said again, shaking her head. “That’s mine. I sleep closer by the fire because I get cold easily. Ruben didn’t mind sleeping further away from it.”

Did that mean they weren’t together, after all? Kai asked himself, letting his eyes roam over the woman’s face. She didn’t seem embarrassed, and neither was she lying, he knew. Kai nodded and changed the topic.

Or wanted to, rather, until Nea leant forward a bit, her eyes curious. “Are those pearls in your hair?” she asked with a smile. “They look very pretty.”

Kai preened a bit. “Thanks!” he replied with a grin and took one out to hold it out to the young woman, who took it with her own smile.

Nea held the pearl into the light and watched it shine with sparkling eyes. “They must be a right eye catcher,” she commented happily. “But I don’t think you have trouble catching someone’s eye, do you, Kai? You’re very handsome.”

“And you’re a very beautiful lady, Nea,” Kai replied with a laugh as he took the pearl back to tie into his hair again. Even Sky had to chuckle a little at so much earnest positivity, especially with Nea looking so happy about the compliment.

The conversational topics changed from one to another, and they chatted until the evening. Once, Mr Cloud had even let Kai pet him for a short while, which the young man had counted as a success.

Nea saw Ruben coming through one of the windows and immediately jumped up from the table, eager to greet him. The brothers shot each other knowing glances. So, there was still hope, they thought. Maybe their uncle only needed a little nudge in the right direction.

“Ruben!” Nea called from in front of the door, already waving in a grand manner to welcome the man back. “Hurry! We have visitors!”

Ruben’s eyes widened and he fastened his steps, the large basket over his shoulder full of fish bobbing along with his movements. Only Nea’s smile somewhat calmed him down. It had to be nice visitors if she was still looking so happy.

Still, just to make sure, he moved her behind his back before he took a look into the house. The two young men stood up with smiles on their faces, Kai’s bright and cheerful, and Sky’s small but loving. “Hey, Uncle Ruben!” tall, dark and handsome called, his hand raised in a cheerful wave.

He put down the basket by the door and hurried over to hug them, the boys disappearing in his embrace despite them both being anything but small. Nea watched them with a happy smile but decided to leave them alone for the moment.

Instead, she began shoving the basket inside so she could at least close the door. Mr Cloud was already pacing around the container and clawing at it, no matter how many times Nea tried to shoo the cat away.

At last, she simply took Mr Cloud up into her arms and sat down on her bed, so she was out of the way. She was a bad cook, anyway, and dinner could wait while Ruben caught up with his family. It was a joy to see him like that, she thought with a fond smile.

Mr Cloud wasn’t having any of it and immediately tried to wiggle out of Nea’s grip. It turned into a full-blown battle with her talking to the cat as if it was a surly child, held at arm length away from her body in case the cat was getting irritable.

Three pairs of eyes wandered to her. “Is she having an argument with the cat?” Kai asked, sounding more than amused, a bright grin on his face. Even Sky’s lips had turned up more than usual.

Ruben nodded, his face and eyes nothing but soft as he watched the scene. “Yes,” he breathed out; a small smile visible even beneath his beard.

Kai only grinned brighter, his gaze wandering to his uncle. “It’s really cute,” he commented, not necessarily meaning Nea at this point, though he didn’t think Ruben was really aware. Sky nudged him softly and shot him a look that told him not to tease the man, but he didn’t really seem to mind.

“Yes,” Ruben only sighed again, not able to tear his eyes away from the scene. Kai broke out into tiny giggles, but all Ruben felt was the warmth in his chest and his heart beating loudly in his ears.

“I could tell you anything right now and you’d just agree, right?” Kai added with a fondly amused grin, despite his brother’s look. He could see the amusement in Sky’s eyes. Of course, he was just doing so out of obligation.

Ruben nodded dumbly. “Yes,” he replied softly, once again, making Kai laugh even louder, so much that even Nea looked over to them, distracted from _her_ quest to distract the cat from the fish.

“Ruben, tell Mr Cloud he’s going to get some fish later!” she demanded, looking a tad bit ruffled with her light pink cheeks that she’d blown up in frustration. “He’s not listening to me.”

A small laugh escaped even Ruben, and he went over to the two of them to gently stroke over the cat’s head. “You will get some fish later,” he promised the cat with a quiet rumble. Mr Cloud still looked irritated but purred anyway.

Nea very carefully lowered the cat to the ground, keeping a watchful eye on it as she did so, and made a noise in alarm as Mr Cloud immediately began running towards the basket with the fish.

Ruben was faster, catching the cat with one big hand and lifting it up, much to its confusion. Kai was beside himself with laughter by then, almost falling to the ground in his breathless joy. Sky was watching everything in silence, though he looked amused, too.

While Ruben took care of dinner that night, this time a little more special courtesy of their surprise visitors, the rest of the bunch made a challenge out of distracting the cat from the fish.

Notable attempts were Nea’s off key singing, disturbing Mr Cloud for a short while until his attention was back on the fish;

Kai dangling a string of wool in front of Mr Cloud, managing to distract the cat for at least a few minutes before Ruben opened the basket and a new smell of fish became apparent;

Sky rolling a marble across the wooden floor, which caught the cat’s attention for a while until Ruben grabbed for the next fish.

In the end, Kai won by bringing out the cat treats, upon which he was Mr Cloud’s best friend for the rest of the time waiting for dinner.

“Unfair,” Nea commented with a small pout.

Sky nodded. “Agreed,” he said softly, shaking his head in disapproval.

“You’re just jealous,” Kai replied, sounding smug with one hand buried in the cat’s bushy fur while the feline got one small treat after the other.

That, however, didn’t stop Mr Cloud from wandering off when Ruben leant down and held out the promised piece of fish for the cat.

Nea made a triumphant sound while Kai dramatically held out a hand to the feline. “No, Mr Could, nooooooooo!” he called, making Sky chuckle and Nea giggle. Ruben shot them an amused, fond look before turning back to his work.

After a lively dinner, courtesy of Kai’s many stories of his adventures and Nea’s resulting questions, the boys said goodbye for the day, despite Ruben’s insistence that they should stay. They had already paid for a room down in the village, they said.

It grew noticeably quiet once they were gone, Nea and Ruben standing by one of the windows to watch them for as long as they could. “Maybe we could share your bed next time the children come over?” Nea suggested quietly, leaning against the big man.

Before Ruben could get over his fluster and answer, she continued: “I mean, you’re like a furnace anyway, so I won’t freeze, and the weather has gotten warmer, right?”

He looked down at her and gathered his courage, though the hopeful look in her eyes had already sealed the deal. “We could…start tonight…?” Ruben suggested in turn, his voice a soft rumble. “Just to… try it out.”

Nea smiled brightly. “Oh, you get me!” she commented happily and gently nudged him before moving away from him.

Ruben watched her as she walked around the hut, collecting her pillow and moving it to the man’s bed, by the wall. Only Mr Cloud finally distracted him, demanding pets with his usual noises and leaning against his legs.

He picked him up and petted him gently. Ruben was rewarded with a purr that put a small smile on his face. He moved to the table to sit down on one of the chairs as Nea changed into her bed clothes. Maybe the cat wanted to cuddle with them later, too.

It felt surprisingly easy to slip into bed beside Nea, Ruben thought. The bed was small, especially for someone for his size, but it worked. Having the woman so near made his heart beat faster, but at the same time, he also felt a bone deep contentment.

Ruben wrapped his arms around her securely, her head resting on his biceps. She was smiling as she wrapped her arm around his waist in turn, looking beyond happy about cuddling with Ruben. His heart beat faster once again. “Good night,” he murmured softly, daring a kiss to her forehead.

Nea smiled brighter and closed her eyes, cuddling closer and pressing against him. “Good night,” she whispered, already half way into sleep. “Sleep tight.”

He softly stroked up and down Nea’s back until she had fallen asleep, Ruben staying awake for a small while longer to watch her sleeping face. Mr Cloud joined them, finding a place on Ruben’s broad chest. His tail was draped like a fuzzy scarf over Nea’s forehead, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Ruben couldn’t remember a time when he had last felt this content. He felt at home, his own little family there with him and in his arms.

There was a smile on his face as he followed the other two into sleep.

As promised, the boys returned the next day to spend some more time with their uncle and his new life companion. Kai had brought more snacks for Mr Cloud, too, hoping to win his heart that way before they would leave again and continue on their travels.

“So, uncle…” Kai began slowly, straightening up from his work of cutting wood. Ruben did the same, looking at him with slight curiosity. The younger gave him a brilliant smile. “How’s it going with Nea?”

Ruben blushed, barely visible beneath his beard. Had he been that obvious? He cleared his throat. “Good,” he replied somewhat gruffly, bending over and putting another log of wood into position before his axe soared down and neatly cut it in two.

Kai raised an eyebrow. “Are you two actually together or still dancing around the issue?” he asked after a glance to Mr Cloud, going after his favorite activity, which was chasing butterflies around the meadow with little success.

“It’s… not that easy,” Ruben replied vaguely, coming to a stop once more. His brow had creased into a small frown. “I don’t know if she…”

“If?” Kai gently prompted, his heart hurting a bit at seeing his uncle so insecure. He softly nudged him with his elbow, giving him an encouraging smile.

Ruben hesitated, but he felt that it would ease his mind if he were to talk to someone about it. Claire had prompted him many times, Adrien had tried, too, and still, he had kept quiet. “If she is… interested in me in that way,” he finally said, very quietly.

Kai couldn’t help but laugh a little, making Ruben startle and look at him out of big eyes. “She’s been ogling your butt for the last half an hour, uncle,” he commented with an amused grin. “I think she’s very interested.”

The man blushed to the roots of his red hair, slowly turning to look over his shoulder. Nea’s eyes snapped up from somewhere below his upper body to give him a smile before she turned back to her garden work.

Oh, Ruben thought, looking at Kai again. “I… didn’t notice,” he somehow got out, his voice sounding rough with embarrassment. But now there was also hope shining in his eyes. If Nea truly was interested in him in that way… His heart beat faster at the thought alone.

“You should totally ask her out on a date,” Kai added with a bright grin and twinkling eyes. “I mean, that’s what I’d do if I caught my love interest looking at my butt all the time.”

Ruben cleared his throat in embarrassment. “Yes, I… I will do that,” he promised the young man, who proudly patted his upper arm before going back to splitting wood. Ruben needed another minute to sort out his thoughts.

It needed to be perfect. Asking her out, planning the date and then following along on it so that it would be the most perfect evening. It’s been so long, though, Ruben thought, his eyes wandering back to Kai. He would need some help.

The plan had been set into motion. The next evening, Ruben stood in front of his hut, resisting the urge to pace. He waited for Nea to come home from work rather nervously. He would ask her out today, and nothing would stop him. Well, maybe, apart from his insecurities, nothing.

He perked up as he saw her silhouette arriving, Mr Cloud dancing along on dainty feet right next to her. The cat took up speed as soon as it saw Ruben standing there to greet him while Nea chose to wave with a bright smile.

Ruben waved back, then shortly bent down to pet the cat with a smile, despite his nervousness. It was a nice reprieve while it lasted. Just as Nea was in earshot, he turned around and let the cat inside before closing the door again.

He took a deep breath and turned around to face her, holding out his hands with the palms up. With a puzzled smile, Nea took them, laying her smaller hands into his. Ruben chanced a look over his shoulder. Kai was giving him a thumbs up and a bright grin through the window.

“Nea, I wanted to ask if you want to…” he began, the last part of that sentence coming out right along with Nea’s words. “Go on a date with me?”

Ruben blinked at her, and she shot him a sheepish smile. “I guess I had the same idea,” she admitted, looking passed Ruben to the other window, where Sky sat, nodding with a serene smile. “So, uh, do you want to go first, or…?”

He let out a little, relieved laugh and shook his head with a loving smile, strands of his greying hair falling into his forehead with the motion. “No, go ahead,” he asked of her, his eyes shining with fondness down at her.

Nea gave him a brilliant smile. “So, you know, the summer festival starts next week, right?” she began, continuing once Ruben had nodded in acknowledgement. “And I took a look at the flyer, there’s going to be so much food! I’m really looking forward to that.”

Ruben had to smile at that, and she had to see it, because Nea was growing a little pink in the face. She didn’t let that stop her, however. “And there’s going to be music, and dancing. I want to dance with you.”

“Me, too,” Ruben softly replied, a happy anticipation thrumming through his veins at the thought of spending the evening with Nea like that. As she squeezed his hands, he softly squeezed back.

“I asked Claire about a new dress, and she said she had one for me ready, and I tried it on, oh, it was perfect!” Nea gushed, shaking Ruben’s hands slightly in her excitement. A small rumble, maybe a laugh, escaped Ruben at that. “I’m going to wear it. And, you know, Claire and Adrien have this lovely house, with the large stairs?”

Ruben nodded, not exactly grasping what exactly she had in mind yet, but extremely curious to find it out regardless. He encouraged her to keep going by squeezing her hands again, very carefully. She was so much smaller than him, and yet, there was so much life in her, making her seem larger.

Nea took a deep breath, blushing again, just a little. “I’m going to change at Claire’s house after work, and you’re coming to pick me up, alright?” she asked, this time not waiting for Ruben’s reaction. Her next words came much faster. “And then I’ll walk down those stairs in my pretty dress, and you’ll be blown away.”

It was quiet for a short while, then Ruben laughed quietly and took a step closer, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Yes,” he told her softly, his eyes shining with love. “I have no doubt that I will.”

She smiled so brightly that he almost thought it would blind him. Nea quickly rose to her feet and kissed his cheek, whisper soft, before sinking down to the soles of her feet again. Ruben straightened up as well. “What were you thinking of?” she wanted to know with that happy smile of hers.

“I wanted to dance as well,” Ruben admitted fondly, one thumb rubbing gentle circles into her knuckles in a careful movement. “We could eat something afterwards, and then watch the sunset from on top of the church tower.”

“Yes, I’d really like that,” Nea admitted quietly, her smile softening into something much more loving, taking Ruben’s breath away. “Thank you. It sounds more than lovely.”

The idyllic moment, consisting of the happy couple staring into each other’s eyes, was interrupted by Mr Cloud scratching at the door from the inside, alerting the two of them of the fact that they weren’t alone. At least the brothers had moved away from the windows to give them some privacy.

Shooting each other one last smile, they turned hand in hand to meet the demands of their cat and share dinner with the children. They were smiling for the rest of the evening, and even in their sleep.

The brothers didn’t stay for the summer festival as they still wanted to meet up with their remaining siblings a few towns over, though they wished the two lovebirds much fun and promised to return again before the year ended.

The week passed with heavy anticipation. Now, Ruben noticed the looks, dark and soft, Nea was sending him over the course of a day, making delightful shudders race down his spine. He could hardly await their date.

They hadn’t seen each other since morning as Ruben gently knocked on the door to the Vulpin household, nervousness and excitement spread over him like a blanket. He felt younger somehow, like a young man falling in love for the first time.

He sat down with Adrien in the parlor, holding a tiny tea cup in his big hands while the man tried his best to distract him. His wife was busy upstairs, preparing Nea for her big entrance. Ruben himself had put on his best shirt for the occasion, though he had no intention of stealing his date’s show. This was all for Nea.

Finally, there was rustling above. Ruben’s heart beat faster as he put down the half-drunk cup, rising to his feet. He moved to the bottom of the stairs, his hands feeling sweaty. Adrien, curious as ever, stood next to him, supported on his walking stick.

Nea, had been right, Ruben thought, wide eyed as he saw her for the first time. He was blown away. Her beautiful hair had been braided expertly, just a few strands framing her face. She held a bit of the white dress away from her feet as she descended the stairs, the other hand supporting her with a light grip on the banister.

What fascinated him the most, however, was the slight blush that had taken residence on her cheeks, and the way her lips formed an almost shy, though delighted smile. Her eyes were sparkling like a clear summer sky, making him unable to look away.

He must have looked like a right idiot, with his mouth half open as he stared at her, but thankfully, Nea didn’t seem to mind. She still held out her hand to him once she had reached the bottom, Ruben taking it without a thought.

He cleared his throat. “You look beautiful,” he rumbled, his own cheeks a bit red as he leant down and pressed a whiskery kiss to the back of her hand.

“You look very handsome as well, Ruben,” Nea replied quietly, eyes on him and him alone as she intertwined their fingers.

“And please have her home by midnight,” Adrien piped up with a bright grin, ruining the otherwise perfect moment of them just staring at each other, making Nea giggle and lean her forehead against Ruben’s broad chest for a moment.

Not a second later, Claire’s reprimand, in the form of a fondly exasperated “Adrien!” sounded, making Adrien chuckle along. “Alright, then not by midnight. But be a gentleman, Ruben, or else I’ll send Claire to whack you over the head with her umbrella.”

Nea only snorted more, but Ruben nodded as solemnly as he could. Claire could be downright scary if she wanted to.

“We’ll see each other later, at the festival,” Nea concluded once she had enough breath to do so, slowly straightening up. She only let go of Ruben’s hand to press a thankful kiss to Adrien’s cheek, the man still beaming happily, before she dragged her date out of the house.

Ruben went willingly and didn’t mind showing the other townspeople that Nea was now taken. Or hopefully, would be by the night’s end when their date had been successful.

They had often walked arm in arm through the village, but now everything was different. With the knowledge that Nea felt the same, Ruben felt lighter, felt like he could be more himself than in the weeks before.

Lively music could already be heard before they even saw the market place and the musicians. Nea’s steps quickened with her excitement, and Ruben smiled fondly as he followed her demanding tugging through the streets.

As they arrived, Ruben thought he might have seen Dario somewhere, talking to a woman he hadn’t seen around before, though that detail soon escaped him when Nea dragged him to the dance floor in the middle of the market, just as another round of dancing was about to start.

Though she had been impatient, Nea now let him lead her around, their eyes locked. Ruben knew he mirrored the happy smile he could see on her face. They had never done this before, not together, and still it felt as if they had always danced together like this, hands clasped and the world disappearing around them.

The rumbling of Nea’s stomach, at one point louder than the music and the surrounding merrymaking, finally ripped them out of their trance after more dances than Ruben had cared to count.

He gently led her over to one of the large tables laden with food and drink, letting her choose before he got his own. They found a quiet, secluded spot a few meters away from all the dancing and singing, a hidden bench beneath two large trees.

“I think my feet are going to kill me tomorrow,” Nea sighed but didn’t actually seem to mind all that much, going by her happy smile. The cause of that could also be the food, Ruben considered, or the atmosphere in general.

“I could give you a massage later,” Ruben suggested quietly, watching her eat with a small smile before he took his own bite from a spring roll. It was very good, though it was no wonder. Claire had had a hand in the preparations.

Linnea nodded eagerly, swallowing and licking some sauce from her lips before answering. “Yes, please. But Dario said I could sleep in tomorrow and don’t need to come into work. He told me to enjoy the evening to its fullest. I thought that was really nice of him.”

“It was,” Ruben agreed softly, smiling a bit. It just showed to him what kind of man Dario was, and that he once again wished him only the best. That he might find love as well, like Ruben himself did, for the second time in his life.

In that sense, Ruben had truly been blessed, and he vowed not to let this second chance go. No, he would hold onto what they had until Nea told him to go, or she would leave on her own volition. It went without saying that he never wanted such a thing to happen in the first place.

They fell quiet for the duration of dinner, both lost in their own thoughts. But it was a comfortable silence, which Ruben was immensely grateful for. He would hate for things to get awkward, especially after Nea’s last, rather unsuccessful, date.

As the sun slowly began to set, they moved towards the church. Even though Nea didn’t complain about hurting feet again, Ruben picked her up anyway, as he enjoyed carrying her around far too much. There was a short protest from his date, but finally she simply relaxed and let him do it.

Before he could set her down, she kissed his cheek and uttered a quiet thank you, which made Ruben smile and blush a little, his heart beating faster in joy. “Can you hold me for a little longer, just like this?” Nea asked quietly, looking at him with that knowing smile of hers.

“Of course,” Ruben replied in the same volume, wrapping his arms more securely around his date. The air was getting a little cooler up here, even without the sun slowly setting, and Nea grew cold so very easily.

With the setting sun, Nea’s eyes and hair looked even more radiant, almost glowing in the dying light. Ruben couldn’t look away, not even as she put a hand on his cheek and leant forward. Ruben himself moved on instinct, connecting their lips in a sweet kiss that stole the breath from his lungs.

It felt so much better than he had imagined, and despite his breathlessness and the quick beating of his heart, Ruben drew the kiss out for as long as he could to make this as good for Nea as it was for himself.

They were both breathing heavily by the end of it, but their foreheads were still connected as if seeking closeness. He nuzzled their noses together, Nea giggling a bit at the motion, though never pulling away.

Ruben’s smile was so bright that it was easily visible beneath his facial hair, a soft laugh rumbling through his chest as well. The rumble got prolonged with Nea scratching through his beard.

She grinned a little, Ruben could see, before he had to close his eyes in bliss. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Nea admitted quietly, her voice sounding fond and amused. “You look very cute like this, sweetheart.”

His heart missed a beat at the new nickname. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been called sweet of all things. He would have probably blushed much deeper, too, if her touches hadn’t distracted him so much. He let out a vague grunt to let her know he had listened, though he wasn’t capable of more.

After a few moments, Nea moved her hand to simply cup his cheek, and he slowly blinked his eyes open again to look into hers, open and full of feeling. His breath caught, and he was speechless once again, just like that.

“I love you, Ruben,” Nea whispered after another short kiss into the silence between them, her thumb rubbing gentle circles into the skin above Ruben’s beard. “I love the life I have with you. I love our cat, our garden, our house. Going to bed with you and waking up to your face. I don’t think I ever want anything else.”

Tears sprang to his eyes and flowed over soon after, each of her words warming his chest more and more, his feelings unable to be contained. His grip on her tightened and he closed his eyes tightly for just a moment. “I love you, too, my Nea,” he replied softly, his voice rough with emotion.

“Oh, no, no, don’t cry,” Nea mumbled, her eyes already filling with tears as well. “Oh, I’m going to cry, too!”

A small laugh escaped Ruben at that. Yes, she cried, too. But it was fine. He wouldn’t complain about happy tears, and he had enough handkerchiefs with him to stop the flood.

“Will you let me stay with you?” Nea asked quietly once they both calmed down again, her voice small and insecure.

Ruben pressed a firm kiss to her forehead, staying there for a long moment. “For as long as you wish to. You will always have a home with me,” he replied, his lips brushing her skin. “Always.”

Nea sniffed pathetically, new tears coming to her eyes. “Then that means forever, just so you know,” she replied, though now she sounded rather wobbly.

It made Ruben smile. “Forever,” he agreed quietly, pulling back to look into her eyes, his own neither dry nor unaffected. He was finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, these book titles are real. Google them. The covers are hilarious.
> 
> Pynselium (a-walk-in-the-garden on tumblr btw) let me borrow, in order of appearance:  
> Ruben Magnos (three-times-the-trouble.tumblr.com)  
> The Witch (prowling-nightmares.tumblr.com)  
> Kai Caelum and Sky Cerulea (three-times-the-trouble.tumblr.com)
> 
> My OCs you can find here, and, in extension, me (snrs-neon on tumblr):  
> Linnea Solsken, Mikhail and Dario (the-smuggling-business.tumblr.com)  
> Claire and Adrien Vulpin (of-welcoming-arms.tumblr.com)


End file.
